Onward Nation

America's best podcast for learning how today's top business owners Think, Act, & Achieve. Onward Nation is a five-day-a-week podcast hosted by Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI. Business owners share the most influential lessons learned throughout their careers, including insights into their daily habits, their most vital priorities that have contributed to their business and personal success, and the most challenging time or situation that could have devastated or even ruined their businesses or careers. Business owners share their "recipes for success" including those systems they wish they had put into practice inside their business when first starting out. Each episode concludes with guests sharing two or three practical and tactical strategies they would recommend to brand new business owners in order to best ensure success in their new business and careers. Onward Nation provides business owners with the strategies and tactical step-by-step "recipe" that will help anyone make their business more systematic, predictable, measurable, and repeatable.

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Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate, purpose-led business leader — the former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, a franchisee-focused approach, and superior financial performance. Guided by the servant leadership thinking of Robert Greenleaf, she believes highly caring, collaborative leaders with big ambitions for the enterprise, not themselves, generate the conditions for people to perform their best work.

Cheryl served as CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company with over 2,600 restaurants in 26 countries, from 2007 to 2017. The story of Popeyes success is chronicled in her book, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others. During her tenure, Popeyes stock price grew from $11 to $61, at which time the board sold the company to Restaurant Brands International Inc. for $1.8 billion dollars or $79 per share in March 2017.

Cheryls earlier career included brand leadership roles at Yum Brands, Dominos Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble. Cheryl is a director and compensation committee chair at Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR). She sits on the advisory board of Procter & Gamble’s franchising venture, Tide Dry Cleaners. She is a member of C200, an organization that fosters, celebrates and advances women’s leadership in business.

Cheryl holds a Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She is married 36 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters, two terrific sons-in-law, and three handsome grandsons. Cheryl and Chris reside in Atlanta, Georgia and attend Buckhead Church. They are avid learners, fans of the classical education movement, and can always be found reading a good book!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Cheryl’s career path and personal life have bought her many fantastic leadership opportunities

Why Cheryl wanted to demonstrate an example of clear, competitive marketplace performance during her time leading Popeyes

Why Cheryl chose to title her book “Dare to Serve: How to Drive Superior Results by Serving Others”

Why tracking the P&L figures of Popeye’s franchisees was a critical change Cheryl made that helped rebuild trust

How the changes Cheryl spearheaded helped Popeyes restaurants increase their sales by an average of 45%

What lessons from Cheryl’s book “Dare to Serve” are the biggest takeaways that business owners can learn from

Why it’s important to ask yourself “why do I lead?” and to answer the question honestly

Why the biggest legacy of Cheryl’s time at Popeyes lies in the development of future leaders

Why clear communication and talent management were major pillar of growth for the Popeyes organization during Cheryl’s tenure as CEO

Why human dignity is a deep belief Cheryl holds, and why she feels your deep beliefs should be reflected in your work

Sarah Noked is an MBA graduate, Certified Online Business Manager and Digital Marketing Strategist with more than 10 years business experience in the online world. With her stellar team of OBMs, they help their clients stay on track for growth and development. They do this by managing their projects, teams, operations, automation, and launches. In turn, their clients gain the much needed time to focus on their big picture, revenue-generating ideas. Everyone wins!

When she’s not working in the agency and with 6 to 7 figure entrepreneurs scaling their businesses, she’s helping other VAs and OBMs realize their worth and potential to scale and grow profitable teams and businesses. As a Certified OBM Trainer, Sarah trains and certifies fellow OBMs in the online business industry.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How family and a desire for flexibility were the catalyst for Sarah’s decision to leave her corporate job to become an online business manager

How Sarah describes the role of an OBM and the value the position provides to entrepreneurs in streamlining and scaling their business

What strategies and methods Sarah and her team use to help business owners scale their business… without scaling their work hours

How Sarah’s team manages product launches, handles SEO and advertising, and other tasks to minimize day-to-day operation headaches

Why efficiency is one of the key aspects an OBM works on to improve the smooth operation of the business

What daily habits have most benefited Sarah and contributed to her career success

Why project management software can be a powerful efficiency and communication tool to coordinate your teams

Why having a clear vision is the vitally important foundation an entrepreneur needs to create a successful organization

What key lesson Sarah learned from a former client that reshaped her business philosophies

What advice Sarah would offer to business owners looking to maximize efficiency and minimize day-to-day effort

Kwame Christian, Esq., M.A. is a business lawyer and the Director of the American Negotiation Institute where he puts on workshops designed to make difficult conversations easier. As an attorney and mediator with a bachelor of arts in Psychology, a Master of Public Policy, and a law degree, Kwame brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to the topic of conflict management and negotiation.

His TEDx Talk, Finding Confidence in Conflict, was viewed over 24,000 times in 24 hours and was the most popular TED Talk on the topic of conflict of 2017. He also hosts the top negotiation podcast in the country, Negotiate Anything. The show has been downloaded over 350,000 times, has listeners in 181 different countries.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Kwame’s passion lies in psychology, self-awareness and understanding others, and how that relates to the business world

Why people are sometimes cognitively incapable of understanding your perspective, and how you can work around those barriers

Why someone’s professionalism often masks the fact that you’re really negotiating with their “inner toddler”

Why the three-part key to negotiating is to acknowledge emotions, show compassionate curiosity, and share in joint problem solving

Examples of how to implement Kwame’s three-part strategy to diffuse a difficult conversation

How to get a free copy of Kwame’s 18-page negotiation guide, covering topics like negotiation preparation, conflict negotiation and salary negotiation

Kwame shares wisdom from his book “Nobody Will Play With Me: How To Use Compassionate Curiosity to Find Confidence in Conflict”

What the most powerful business lesson Kwame learned was, and why he considers himself a “recovering people pleaser”

Why an unhappy experience at six years old shaped Kwame’s need for friendship and conflict avoidance when he was older

What advice Kwame would share with others looking to improve their confidence and become better ant difficult conversations

Evan Hackel is the creator of the concept and the author of “Ingaging Leadership”. He’s a successful business owner who has started more than 10 companies and is recognized as a thought leader, speaker, and author on leadership. One of his signature achievements was turning around a bankrupt business in four years and more than doubling system-wide sales to exceed $2 billion. He is also Founder and Principal of Ingage Consulting, a consulting firm headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Why Evan lives a “portfolio life”, and how he strives to positively add to the businesses he works with

What Evan has been working on since his last visit to the Onward Nation podcast in episode #585

Why the theme of Evan’s upcoming franchise executive conference is “Rethink Everything”, and how that can apply to businesses of all types

How technological advances will completely alter the world of business and the way customers interact with companies

Why retailers must change their thinking to remain relevant in the age of in-home purchasing

Why the divide between urban and rural lifestyles will only grow exponentially in the future

How Evan defines success, and why economic bounty isn’t necessarily the right measure to determine success

Why fear is the most powerful motivator, and why complacency is the biggest risk businesses have to deal with

Why today’s barrier of entry for new businesses is lower than it has historically ever been before

Why it’s easy to miss what’s right in front of you, and why it’s critical to get an outside perspective

Ways to contact Evan:

Bryan Miles is CEO & co-founder of BELAY. A leading US-based, virtual solutions company, BELAY has over six hundred team members all working from home, remotely. BELAY has graced the Inc. 5000 list three times and was awarded the number one spot in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Best Company Culture. BELAY provides virtual assistants, bookkeeping, copywriting, and webmaster services to leaders and fast-paced organizations. BELAY’s services equip leaders and organizations with the ability to climb higher when and where they need it most. BELAY’s vision is to help clients achieve their vision.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The book that helped Bryan begin his journey toward becoming an entrepreneur even after he initially thought his chance had passed him by.

How a conversation with his wife about what he had in mind had her deciding to take the leap with him.

Why Bryan believed the combination of her experience at executing plans with his vision would make them a powerful team.

The importance of working to your strengths and how Bryan and his wife understand their strengths and divide their responsibilities accordingly.

Why delegating the tasks you’re not accomplished with can be the best possible solution for your business.

Why Bryan believes it’s important never to lose sight of people. They are the ones who build his business, who his business serves, and he feels it’s his responsibility, perhaps even purpose, to care for those people.

The role faith plays in the way Bryan runs Belay and why he feels it’s so important to him to be led by his beliefs and his faith.

Why the statement “You stand for something or you fall for everything,” has special meaning to Bryan.

What Bryan is doing that has helped Belay, a company that has only been in business for eight years, make the Inc. 5,000 list for four years in a row.

The daily habits Bryan believes are essential for his success in life and in business.

What Bryan believes is the greatest thing he and his wife (who is also his business partner) can give their children. This one might not be what you expect.

Ways to contact Bryan:

Joyce Bone, MBA equips other achievers in skyrocketing their financial results through her guidance as a speaker, podcast host of the Anxiety-Free Selling show, author of Millionaire Moms, sales coach and business consultant. She is also active in real estate as both an investor and licensed agent.

At age 28 as a former stay-at-home mom, Joyce co-founded and led EarthCare, an environmental company traded on NASDAQ achieving $125 million annual revenues. She has raised over $65 million dollars and has pitched investors nationally and internationally including Sweden, India and Canada. Since that time, she has successfully helped other companies and individuals learn to influence and sell in a more productive and empowering way.

Past clients range from Fortune 500s to, “Eat What You Kill” (1099) sales professionals in the real estate, financial services, insurance, mortgage, and direct marketing sectors, to small business owners including IT and CPG companies.

As an entrepreneur, she is nationally recognized for her business acumen. Featured on CNBC’s The Squawk Box, and in Kiplinger, Money, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Atlanta Business Chronicle, and a host of other media outlets, Joyce is who the media often turn to for sound business advice.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How it all got started for Joyce with a bottle of Tide. How that moment made her decide to change the financial story for her family.

The way Joyce’s childhood experiences shaped her drive and determination to provide more for her family.

The importance of overcoming obstacles and how Joyce overcame what she perceived as her first obstacle as she launched her business.

How one little tweak in her mindset, the way she viewed obstacles, changed the course of her life and how it affects all entrepreneurs as they begin their journeys.

The aggressive goal Joyce set for herself by the time she was 30 (and she was only 28 when the bottle of Tide was out of reach) and how that goal shaped the type of business she’d have to create.

The importance of a lunch meeting with her former boss and how an idea was born out of that meeting (and a partner made)!

Why Joyce believed that buying up smaller companies to form a larger company and then going public would be her ticket to the aggressive goal she set for herself.

Roadblocks and obstacles Joyce faced along the way that redirected and refocused her efforts.

Why Joyce firmly believes you don’t have to know everything to start. You just have to start and then move forward.

Why it’s easier to sell people your dream and raise money when you’re talking to people who understand the industry you’re working in.

The importance of mentors and continuous self-improvement and the people who have helped Joyce along the way. And how some mentors can teach you from afar.

Ways to contact Joyce:

Our special encore guest today is Michael Stallard. Michael is a former Wall Street executive who left the Street 15 years ago to found the Connection Culture Group, a leadership training firm and focuses on improving workplace cultures. He’s a keynote speaker and expert on how effective leaders boost human connection in cultures to improve the health and performance of individuals and organizations. Michael is also the author of two books, “Connection Culture” and “Fired Up or Burned Out.” Now…you may remember Michael and the wisdom he shared during Episode 794 of Onward Nation. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during his previous interview…I highly encourage you to add Episode 794 to your list of vital priorities.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

What’s new with Michael and his business since he last joined us 6 months ago

Insight into what Michael and his team teach leaders about culture when they work with a company

The new e-course Michael is developing: how it brings people together in collaboration and what you can expect from the course

Michael’s definition of culture in the workplace, and why it boils down to thoughts, words, and deeds- how these three things can make happier, better employees

How humans are hardwired to connect, making connection a superpower for a leader in a business

What the predominant mindset of Wall Street is and why it’s so harmful and counterproductive

Best practices for creating a connection culture in your business

The vision, value, and voice of the band U2, and how that’s a great example of a connection culture

Strategies Alan Mulally used to create a connection culture and turn things around at Ford

What displacement aggression is and how it can ruin a whole culture from the top down

The five unique benefits of connection within an organization as well as how disconnection undermines performance

How to identify leaders in your organization who are good at connecting

Examples of the thoughts, words, and deeds powerful leaders use to create a connection

Ways to contact Michael:

In the fifth grade, Robert Rose’s teacher sent him home with a note that said Robert likes to tell stories. Well, as it turns out, she was right. Robert is the founder and Chief Strategy Officer of The Content Advisory, the consulting and advisory group of The Content Marketing Institute. Robert has been helping marketers tell their story more effectively through digital media for more than 20 years. Over the last five years, Robert has worked with more than 500 companies of all sizes, including 15 of the Fortune 100. Hes provided strategic marketing advice and counsel for global brands such as Capital One, Dell, Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UPS.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The strategy Robert came up with to win when he was part of a startup competing against big companies like Microsoft

What Robert did to become successful and build up Content Marketing Institute to where it is today, helping major companies get things done

How Robert views work and marketing and how that sets him apart from others in his field

Ways marketing has changed over the last 18 years because of consumers, and how Robert based his book, ”Killing Marketing: How Innovative Businesses Are Turning Marketing Cost Into Profit” on this change

Traditional marketing- how it is based on an efficiency model, and how it differs from a new marketing strategy that giants like Amazon, Netflix, and Apple are using

An example explaining why it might be better to create your own audience than to find an audience through a platform like Facebook

Why it’s so much more valuable to have direct access to your customers, and how Robert can help you do that

How Red Bull is actually a media company that happens to sell energy drinks, and how this helps their sales

What Terminus did to be a media company and give their brand value

Practical steps you can take to build a media company within your overall company

The biggest mistake Robert sees both small and large companies make and what you can do to avoid making that same mistake

Why you need to focus on optimizing specific areas of your business, and why it doesn’t work to try to do everything at once

One of the most important things you can do when finding your audience, and why it’s one of the hardest things to do, too

Ways to contact Robert:

Daniel Gefen is the founder of Gefen Media Group — a done-for-you podcast booking service that helps inspiring authors sell more books by getting them booked as guests on relevant podcasts. He’s the best-selling author of The Self Help Addict and the top-rated podcast host of The Daniel Gefen Show and Can I Pick Your Brain. Daniel has been featured in major publications including Forbes and Inc. and has been a guest on over 50 podcasts.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Daniel’s childhood and how his time in school often felt like a prison sentence where he couldn’t be himself and how that transitioned into his early jobs in adulthood.

How not fitting into the usual boxes was a hindrance to Daniel in school and when working for others, but how his unique personality helped him excel as an entrepreneur.

Why going into business for himself didn’t quite live up to Daniel’s expectations at first

He didn’t get the freedom he expected.

The best move Daniel believes he’s made in his business and why it was so important for him.

Why it is so important for you to know what your strengths are in business and play to those strengths while finding the right people to manage the other aspects of your business.

How boredom played a role in taking his business to the next step. Once Daniel automated his original business idea to the point where he was barely needed, he had too much time on his hand and began developing new ideas.

Podcasting. How Daniel fell in love with the microphone from day one and how that created new opportunities through Podcasting two shows of his own and then into creating Gefen Media Group.

What Gefen Media Group does in helping people produce podcasts and matching up guests with podcasts in search of them.

The reason no one inspires Daniel the way his grandfather did because of his dedication to serving others.

Why Daniel believes it’s so important to become a better listener in business and in life.

Ways to contact Daniel:

Elise Keith is the founder and meeting maven for Lucid Meetings — an online meeting platform that helps teams run highly productive meetings. She’s also the best-selling author of Where the Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Elise began her career in business and the fortuitous twists and turns that led her to where she is now.

Why Elise was motivated to strike out on her own after observing far too much discord and dysfunction in the company she initially worked with.

Elise’s observations about the structure of larger companies for making decisions and her decision to create a product that would help smaller companies structure meetings so that they could make the transition from concept to reality without the drama and dysfunction that was prevalent in her own organization.

The things people need to bring into meetings to solve problems and move forward: intentionality, purpose, structure. And how having a system aided in that.

The importance of following a process when conducting meetings, including having rules that work for your organization.

How Amazon conducts meeting sand why it works for them. Not to mention how similar rules might work for other organizations.

The way your business conducts meetings reflects on your entire operation. When you get things done in your meetings, prospective clients notice.

Why meetings need structure and not just a set of rules or a code of conduct to follow. Structure can be anything from “icebreakers” to moments of silence before getting into the meat and potatoes of the meeting.

The three main components of the meeting operation system: performance criteria, meeting flow models, and support.

The importance of measuring meeting results. If your meetings aren’t productive, the way you’re conducting meetings has to change. But, how do you measure the results?

Why you need to know, going into the meeting, what kind of meeting it is or what kind of meeting you need to schedule.

Ways to contact Elise:

John Fairclough is the President and Founder of The Resicom Group which helps retailers optimize the way they improve and maintain their store environment. Under his leadership, the company has evolved from a local construction company into an international provider of facility maintenance and construction services. Now John enjoys sharing his story to inspire others.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The important role John believes the resilience he learned as a child has had on the business leader he has become.

The strength that comes from difficult times often shapes the business leaders and how that has helped John persevere when many other leaders crash and burn.

How seeing a need for businesses created a niche that John was able to fill with his company and run with on a widescale level.

Why John believes it’s important to be useful to clients on a broader scale and how that sets his business apart from so many others.

John’s belief that it’s just as easy to plan for one project with the same organization as it is to plan for 1000 and why he isn’t interested in one and done projects at this point in his business.

Avoiding distractions. Why that is so important for keeping your business focus and not chasing revenue for revenue’s sake but only doing so when it falls within the scope and scale of what your business does.

How John went from living in his car to founding a company that employs 80 people within six and a half years.

The right size for a business is what it can properly manage. The hard way John learned that lesson and what it has meant for him and the way he does business today.

The importance of having the right team around you and why you sometimes need to simplify the process to move forward sometimes.

Why John believes it is sometimes necessary to walk away from the business that grew your business in order for your business to grow further.

Ways to contact John:

Our special encore guest today is Sue Hawkes. Sue’s first interview aired as Episode 826 just a few weeks ago. And I typically don’t invite a guest back for an encore so quickly — but — during our post-interview chat — I knew I had to invite Sue to come back right away because our first discussion was so helpful and off-the-charts amazing. We dug into imposter syndrome, how it creeps in, and how we as business owners tend to chase perfection — and on the surface — that’s fine and dandy — but we also need to realize that perfection is just an illusion and there are some keys to maximizing success.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Why Sue believes that business leaders gain incredible freedom once they’ve reached a place of internal peace and unshakable excellence.

The stepping stones to becoming the type of leader that has that peace and confidence that comes with excellence.

Imposter syndrome. What it is and why Sue believes it is how you respond to it when it shows up that defines you as a leader.

Why Sue believes that chasing perfection is such a waste of time for entrepreneurs.

What is EOS, entrepreneur operating system, and why Sue believes that every entrepreneur needs some sort of operating system in place as it allows you to control your business rather than being controlled by your business.

Maintaining sanity with “clarity breaks.” All leaders need time to sit, think, and expand their minds and visions.

Why these clarity breaks are really helpful even though it goes against everything that’s instinctive to promote your business – especially for people who are “doers” by nature.

Different types of sanity breaks that have been effective for others and why it’s important to find your own. One that feeds your mind and soul.

The staggering number of things that are on our minds at any given time and how simplifying those things free up our minds to focus on the most critical problems – and what an operating system has to do with that.

The three things Sue does for companies she works with: vision, traction, and health. Plus, why these things are so important for growth and success.

Why Sue’s book isn’t meant to be read through in one sitting and how she intends it to be used instead.

Ways to contact Sue:

Good Morning, Onward Nation — it’s Saturday, December 1, 2018 as I sit down to record this solocast. And I have to say — I’m so fired up for 2019 to get here. I’m fired up because for the first time in Predictive ROI’s history — we have given the coming year a theme and are building a strategy around that theme.

2019 is going to be the year of “Doubling Down” at Predictive ROI.

So I’m going to do something in today’s solocast that I have never done before. I’m going to take you way, way, way behind the curtain at Predictive to share how we’re going to Double Down in 2019.

But to be clear — this solocast is not a Predictive ROI commercial. Instead, I’m going to share insights into our plans, our concerns, our vulnerabilities, where we think we can be more helpful, and our strategy so you can take this episode and perhaps the lessons we have learned along the way might also be helpful to your team, too.

More specifically…I will take you inside how we’re doubling down on:

Being helpful to you, Onward Nation

Being helpful to our clients

Building and investing in our team

Our offering at Predictive ROI

Our ability to share our story

Revenue and reinvestment back into the business

After you listen to the solocast, please remember that we all have the same 86,400 seconds in a day. Our time here is a gift from God. How you use your time – how you apply your abundance of gifts and talent is your gift back to God.

So make 2019 the year you double down on your intensity and the abundance will be around the corner.

Brett Gilliland is Co-Founder and CEO of Elite Entrepreneurs, which specializes in helping 7-figure business owners with the knowledge, tools, and processes they need grow to $10 million and beyond. He’s an expert in organization development, leadership, and strategy and spent 10 years helping Infusionsoft grow from $7 million in annual revenue to over $100 million. One of Brett’s favorite professional accomplishments is co-creating Infusionsoft’s Elite Forum alongside CEO Clate Mask and building the Elite business.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Only three percent of businesses ever make it to the million dollar mark for revenue. It helps when you begin that business within the safety of another business.

Why Brett decided to “spin out” Elite from InfusionSoft and how he believes it has helped Elite grow exponentially.

The “value ladder.” What it is, the strategy behind it, and how the “slices” stack up.

Building a customer acquisition machine and how Brett had to do it after the fact when Elite spun out from InfusionSoft.

What is Elite Forum and how that transitioned to the need for Elite Momentum and why it matters for the clients Brett serves.

Why it’s important for entrepreneurs to ask the following questions: “How can we provide more accountability? How can we offer more value? How can we be helpful at this level – and the next?” And then listen to the answers.

Why Brett has so much respect for businesses that have built from the ground up without the safety net of a larger organization like InfusionSoft.

Brett’s advice to entrepreneurs just getting started in creating a business.

What it means to be intentional when beginning a company and why it’s so important.

Why Brett believes it’s important to become the leader of your business so that you’re running your business rather than being run by your business.

Ways to contact Brett:

Emily Hirsh is an industry-leading Facebook ad manager and sales funnel strategist who has built an expert team of top-level professionals to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses using proven social media sales strategies and creativity that converts.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How a simple task as a virtual career path become the inspiration for a lucrative and satisfying career path.

Emily’s path from loading Facebook ads for VA clients to running her own team of 24 people who run the ads for her.

The way Emily’s business grew after hiring the first person to help, and then the second, and how she developed a process for teaching others to perform the tasks required, a system she calls the “Hirsh Process.”

Why Emily decided to take the time to create a course outlining and training others to do what she does intuitively and how this “conveyer belt” strategy has helped her business grow.

The difference when you’re representing yourself to clients and when you’re training others to represent you to your clients and why that distinction is important when creating training materials.

Emily’s ideal client and why it’s important for entrepreneurs to understand who their ideal clients are and how choosing someone who isn’t right for your business can be bad for your business and the client.

Why Emily believes it’s hard, but sometimes necessary to say “no” to clients who simply aren’t ready for the services she has to offer and can’t get the full benefit of what she has to offer.

Facebook and Instagram. Why these are the two platforms that deliver the best results for Emily’s style and why she loves them.

Tracking progress. Why Emily’s team tracks results at all stages of the funnel to help identify strengths and weaknesses and improve results all around.

The importance of having a plan before going live with a campaign and why Emily warns against proceeding as an entrepreneur without one.

What they are and why Emily dislikes “Like” campaigns.

The most critical skill Emily believes to develop for high-level results in your business and in your campaigns.

The importance of doing one thing well and building on that instead of 20 mediocre things.

Ways to contact Emily:

Gary Melling is the President and CEO of Acquired Insights, which is an artificial intelligence and machine learning company bringing new and disruptive, cross-industry, cross-functional solutions to market. His expertise has been referenced by organizations and clients such as NASA and the US Federal Reserve Bank. Gary has over 40-years of experience working in classified military defense systems, global enterprise management consulting, corporate transformations and turnarounds, business systems integration, and predictive analytics.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How growing up in a military family taught Gary to embrace change and prepared him to be a leader

The background and future of artificial intelligence and how it’s disrupting a lot of businesses and industries

An example of how predictive analytics, a type of artificial intelligence, is changing healthcare and helping children with cancer have better chances

The aspect of his job that makes Gary excited to go to work every day

Why the world of artificial intelligence is still considered the wild wild west, and where Gary sees it going in the future

How we all have robots in our homes and everyday lives without even realizing it, and what that says about the evolution of technology and artificial intelligence

Where technology is headed in the future and how it can make every aspect of our lives better

The future of human jobs with such an increase in artificial intelligence and the role of ethics management in Gary’s company

Reasons North America is behind other areas of the world when it comes to humanoid robotics

Why new, innovative products often aren’t heavily regulated and whether that’s a good thing or not

Ethical and moral considerations when dealing with developing artificial intelligence

Ways to contact Gary:

Mike Banks is the COO of Fund & Grow, providing financial and strategic advisory services to business owners and real estate investors. They help their clients obtain unsecured funding with creative 0% interest business credit lines. Fund & Grow handles all of the time-consuming work of establishing and building business credit for their clients, including developing new financial relationships, as well as structuring all legal agreements and authorizations required before beginning the credit building process.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Why Mike stopped going to college and got started with Fund&Grow

How Mike has personally benefited from Fund&Grow, giving him the confidence to get started in real estate

The way business credit works and why you should avoid using personal credit for your business

Examples of ways you can use Fund&Grow for your business

Repairing your credit if you need to get it higher in order to use Fund&Grow’s services

Benefits you’ll get, including big savings, if you check out Mike’s webinar

Strategies you can use to get a loan with more money at a lower interest rate

How to manage your business loans to keep them zero interest for as long as possible

The things Mike will look at for you if you get a free Fund&Grow consultation, and the type of advice they will give you to prepare you for their services

Why it’s okay to max out your credit cards, but what you should be doing with the balance to help your credit score

Various aspects of your credit and what plays into your credit score, including things you could be doing that aren’t “bad,” but are negatively affecting your credit score

The danger of using a no limit flexible spending credit card

Common errors on credit reports that can be fixed to improve your score

An insider tip to help you grow your business to the next level

Ways to contact Mike:

Our special encore guest today is Justin Copie. Justin is the CEO of Innovative Solutions and is leading a bold move forward — instilling growth in employees and inspiring change well beyond the four walls of Innovative. Yes…the 80 people working at Innovative don’t work for him — he works for them. As CEO and leader, Justin provides safety and direction, safety in voicing opinions, trying new things, failing, and direction in where to go on the path to success. Now…you may remember Justin and the wisdom he shared during Episode 584 of Onward Nation. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during his previous interview…I highly encourage you to add Episode 584 to your list of vital priorities.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Justin, as CEO, works for his employees, rather than the other way around, and what he does to create a positive working environment

Principles for success Justin follows himself and teaches to his employees

The way Justin navigated the most challenging professional experience of his career, and what the results have been so far

Where Justin gets his courage and inspiration from to make bold moves in business

Justin’s unique philosophy on business and ways he has improved his business and his employees’ productivity based on this philosophy

Takeaways Justin got from Zappos Culture Camp and why he decided to attend in the first place

Ways that Justin mixes employee satisfaction with productivity to benefit both employees and customers

A story about the passing of Justin’s friend’s father that illustrates what Justin believes to be true success

What Justin means when he says fear is like a muscle and how understanding this premise can make you a great business owner

Secrets behind recruiting and retaining quality talent for your business, and what sets A players apart from others

Why Justin allows startups to share his company’s office for free

Strategies to help you get past your plateau and on to the next level in your business

Dr. Larry Senn is a pioneer in the field of corporate culture, having conducted the world’s first research on corporate culture in 1970. As chairman and founder of Senn Delaney, a global transformational and culture-shaping organization, Larry has been on a mission to make “culture shaping” an everyday practice of companies around the world. Larry is also the best-selling author of several books, including, 21st Century Leadership, Winning Team Winning Cultures, and most recently The Mood Elevator.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How people are greatly influenced by significant adult figures in their lives and who first influenced Larry.

Larry’s first entrepreneurial efforts and how they worked for him through school and then through college.

Ways to contact Larry:

Danny Schuman is a writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and president of the marketing consultancy, Twist, which specializes in brand marketing as well as product and service innovation. Before starting Twist, Danny wrote and directed marketing campaigns that helped build iconic brands like Quaker Oatmeal, Coors Light, and Gatorade. His bestselling book “The Worst Business Model in the World: A New Kind of Guide for a New Kind of Entrepreneur” is available on Amazon.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How the big economic downturn of 2008 launched a new adventure for Danny.

How crumbs from agencies Danny worked with in his corporate career become the dough for his business when he created Twist.

Why Danny believes the economic downtime was actually the perfect time to go out on his own when conventional wisdom suggests otherwise. Hint! The numbers support him.

Why Danny continues to operate on a “startup” model even though Twist has been in business for 10 years now.

How Danny came up with the title of his book. Why he almost changed it. And why he ultimately decided to keep it.

Danny’s belief that each new project is an opportunity to solve a different problem and why that appeals to him.

Danny’s belief that it’s more important to shift the focus to making friends rather than making money and how by developing those relationships with friends, you’re essentially creating a network that will help you make even more money in the end.

Why Danny doesn’t prepare for meetings. And, why he thinks you shouldn’t prepare for them either. Hint! It’s more about listening than talking.

What Danny believes is the most critical skill business owners need to master for success in today’s highly competitive marketplace.

The most influential lesson Danny has learned from a mentor and how that lesson has shaped the way he operates his business. Not to mention his bottom line.

Who Susie is and how creative types of business owners need a Susie in their lives and how more business oriented business owners need someone more creative to help with their businesses. It all goes back to that important lesson Danny learned from his mentor.

Ways to contact Danny:

Jared Nichols is a futurist, advisor, and faculty member at the University of Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business, in Graduate and Executive Education. He is the founder of The Foresight Academy where he teaches leaders, teams, and individuals, how to think like futurists so they can create the best future possible, for themselves and the people they serve. Jared is sought out by leaders, organizations, and entrepreneurs to help them identify how emerging trends in technology, media, business, and public policy, may fundamentally change society and shape the future.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How Jared responded when he came to a crossroad in his life and in his business.

The way Jared was able to reach and teach more people by leveraging the tools and technology available to him.

What Jared meant when he described himself as feeling misaligned in what he was doing before and what it took to realign him and his mission.

Authenticity. Why Jared believes it’s so important to help you understand your motivations and get them across to others.

Clarity. Why Jared believes it doesn’t matter what kind of people you want to serve, what industries you want to reach, or who you’re trying to connect with. Clarity is the most important thing you need to have about who you are and how that translates into the business you’re working in.

Why having the right mentor and the right coach can sometimes help you cut through the noise to help you sort that out and find the clarity you require.

Identifying the mission became Jared’s first priority. Once he did that, he was able to shift focus to leveraging technology to reach more people for the sake of his mission.

What a “futurist” is and how thinking like one can help teams create their best possible futures.

How Jared came up with the idea for the Foresight Academy and what students will learn through the 12-week program.

Jared’s four Cs. Conscious. Curious. Creative. Collaborative.

Why Jared believes it’s essential to challenge the norms by asking better questions, like what “else” might be possible.

Why Jared includes a call to action in each part of his course and why he thinks giving students “quick wins” is so important.

Jared’s belief that what you think about the future is far less important, in the grand scheme of things, than HOW you think about the future.

Ways to contact Jared:

Sue Hawkes helps CEOs and their leadership teams succeed. As a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and globally recognized, award-winning seminar leader, she brings over 25-years of experience to her clients. She is CEO of YESS!, founder of Ideal Coaching international, Inc., and has designed and delivered programs for thousands of people. Her most recent book, Chasing Perfection: Shatter the Illusion, Minimize Self-Doubt, & Maximize Success, is available now.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Why Sue believes you’re either learning or winning in business and what that means in the grand scale of things.

Overcoming imposter syndrome and why it’s so important to do just that.

Why Sue believes it’s important for business owners to get what they want out of their businesses rather than feeling chained to their businesses. Hint! It can cause resentment toward the business. Even leading to fantasies of being employed.

The importance of being self-aware and understand what we’re not good at, as entrepreneurs because that’s the only way we’re going to solve the problems we create.

Why Sue decided on this title for her book: Chasing Perfection: Shatter the Illusion, Minimize Self-Doubt & Maximize Success.

The fact that nearly 80 percent of leaders have moments of excruciating self-doubt. It’s normal. It may even be essential for good leadership. The ones who never experience it are the one’s Sue believes you need to worry about.

Why Sue believes continuous self-improvement leads to increased freedom and internal and unshakeable excellence for you as a leader.

The reason Sue designed her book to be read in segments and why that matters so much for her intended audience. Plus, Sue’s instructions for reading her book.

How “unkind wonderful” words are sometimes the perfect words to hear. Especially when they’re as painful as they are insightful.

Sue’s belief that every problem is an opportunity for growth. All you need is to figure out how to flip it upside down and why it’s important to be on the front of the pack, leading the pack rather than reacting.

Sue’s advice to entrepreneurs everywhere, about not giving up because people always seem to quit just before amazing things happen.

Ways to contact Sue:

Dr. Alice Loy is the co-founder & CEO of Creative Startups. She has over 20 years of experience working with entrepreneurs in the creative industries. Widely considered a leading authority on entrepreneurship in the creative economy, Alice built the Creative Startups Accelerator with a vision for catalyzing high growth company formation in the under-served creative economy. Today the accelerator operates on four continents serving over 50 creative companies each year. Alice also co-authored the book, Creative Economy Entrepreneurs: From Startup to Success.

Bianca Caban is Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Republic, a platform that connects tech startups and blockchain projects with retail investors from around the world. Prior to Republic, she worked on Wall Street for five years and also founded a consultancy, Tai — eeno Capital, where she worked with various entities on new fund infrastructure and business development. Bianca is a member of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers and the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

How successful leadership in Rwanda, where 70 percent of parliament was comprised of women at the time inspired Bianca to invest in revitalization strategies for businesses closer to home.

Why Bianca is so committed to bringing investment capital to women-owned businesses in areas that are seeking to revitalize (Detroit, Puerto Rico, etc.).

Bianca’s discovery that women were the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs throughout the U.S. and how important access to capital is to them.

The importance of scalable technology for driving business growth.

How Title Three opened the doors wide for crowdfunding and what that meant for Republic and how it operates today.

Why Bianca is dedicated to helping under-represented groups in business gain access to capital and what it has meant for her organization to do so.

The importance of diversity, not only in the people operating businesses, but also the businesses and products themselves, is so vital to Republic and the people who invest.

The five Ts and what they mean to Republic and Bianca.

How passion factors into the equation and why Bianca is so passionate about her role in helping connect entrepreneurs and startups with the capital they need to get things rolling.

Why it matters that Republic has access to more than 80,000 investors looking for the perfect opportunities and how that helps ensure the right investor finds the right project.

Fernando Schiantarelli is an entrepreneur, TV and radio producer and creator of “Cómo Lo Hizo”, which translates to “How did they make it?” — a podcast that focuses on helping Latino entrepreneurs in co-production with iHeart Radio in Los Angeles.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

Inspiring stories of creative entrepreneurs who immigrated to other countries and were able to build successful businesses out of pure innovation and hard work

Two of the most important qualities for an entrepreneur are humility and resilience

Humility is required, because it’s important to understand your place in the market, how to properly approach new contacts, and where you need to go to succeed, keeping everything grounded in reality

Resilience is important because there will always be naysayers who try to discourage entrepreneurs from pursuing specific goals or who are sure that an idea is doomed to failure – people you have to press past

However, passion can only get you so far, and it’s important to not mistake resilience for ignoring the warnings signs and investing too much time or money into an idea that is not properly research

Once you understand your product idea entirely, where it fits in the market, how it would be made, and how (and at what price) it is likely to sell, then you can start using your passion to drive the idea forward

“Most of our enemies are inside our own heads,” and entrepreneurs can’t let their own fears or uncertainties get the best of them when building company – and sometimes the inner voices are the hardest to work through

Intuition and understanding are also important parts of being an entrepreneur: You have be able to listen to the investors and business contacts you’re talking with, and read between the lines to see the things they aren’t saying

How you can be a successful entrepreneur without a mentor – because part of the process is learning everyone around you, not just a specific tutor or leader you respect

More information on Latino entrepreneurship, Latina woman in the industry, and many more interesting facts!